Suture anchor devices are known in the art of arthroscopy and orthopedic surgery for use in repairing soft tissue injuries in joints. A joint, such as the knee, the elbow, or the shoulder, contains tissue such as ligaments, tendons and cartilage, which allows the joint to function. For example, the soft tissue permits joint articulation, and the transmission and absorption of forces. Frequently, as a result of trauma caused by an accident or overloading of a joint during sports activities, the soft tissue may become damaged. It is not unusual in a sports related injury to have tearing of cartilage or the separation of a tendon or ligament from a bone surface. Such injuries tend to result in loss of joint function to a greater or lesser degree, and typically require some sort of surgical intervention and remediation to provide normal joint function.
It is typical in this art to repair soft tissue injuries using medical devices that are commonly known as suture anchors. A suture anchor typically consists of an implantable member that engages bone and a suture mounted to the implantable member, for example, through an eyelet.
The suture anchors are typically employed in a surgical procedure in the following manner. The surgeon, after surgically accessing the damaged joint, drills a bore hole, typically a blind hole, into a bone adjacent to the joint where the soft tissue injury has occurred.
Then the surgeon inserts the suture anchor into the drilled hole and manipulates the anchor to assure engagement therein, such that the anchor is stationary in the hole. Next the surgeon passes the suture through the soft tissue, typically by using a surgical needle attached to the suture, and approximates the soft tissue against the surface of the bone, thereby completing the reattachment of the soft tissue. After such a surgical repair, the body's healing response will cause a natural healing and re-attachment of the soft tissue to the bone surface, and the damaged joint will typically regain normal function.
Although there are numerous suture anchors known in this art for soft tissue re-attachment, there is a constant need for novel suture anchors having advantageous characteristics.